


01 to 15

by orphan_account



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Birth, Child Death, Comfort, Eventual Romance, Family Bonding, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Fluff, Healing, Human Experimentation, M/M, Mpreg, Near Death Experiences, No Smut, Other, Polyamory, Self-Indulgent, Self-indulgent fic for myself, Stillbirth, Trauma, Unethical Experimentation, You're welcome to read this but I do not fault you for not doing so, graphic birth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-02 06:06:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18805264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The facility was all they knew. They had lived in there since before they could remember. To this day the 'sky', 'music', 'sun and moon', 'mountains' and 'names' are only things they knew out of story books from the Outside.And so was pregnancy. But this one would soon change as the five vastly different men, now numbered 01 to 06, were chosen for a cruel experiment.Would they manage to get through the sick experimentation and get into freedom?





	1. Item Data

 

Item : 01  
Alias: Spot  
Birthdate: 04.05.1065  
Height: 1.74m/5'8''  
Weight: 94kg/207lbs  
Education Level: 4

 

* * *

 

Item: 02  
Alias: Deuce  
Birthdate: 05.10.1068  
Height: 1.65m/5'4''  
Weight: 66kg/145lbs  
Education Level: 3

 

* * *

 

Item: 03  
Alias: Fey  
Birthdate: 17.01.1066  
Height: 1.78m/5'10''  
Weight: 73kg/160lbs  
Education Level: 5

 

* * *

 

Item: 04  
Alias: Dot  
Birthdate: 27.08.1067  
Height: 1.89m/6'2''  
Weight: 89kg/196lbs  
Education Level: 3

 

* * *

 

Item: 05  
Alias: Chief  
Birthdate: 13.12.1065  
Height: 1.70m/5'6''  
Weight: 72kg/158lbs  
Education Level: 5

* * *

 

Item: 06  
Alias: Joker  
Birthdate: 02.03.1067  
Height: 1.93m/6'3''  
Weight: 84kg/185lbs  
Education Level: 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 14/05/2019  
> I'm not entirely sure why people click this, but I'm grateful and thought that I might as well make it a bit easier for you to differentiate the characters and make some profiles with the art I drew of them.  
> You can find the images on my [Deviant Art](https://www.deviantart.com/redheads13/gallery/). Anyway, take care and have a nice day.


	2. O001-O006

**2 October 1088, 09:40**

 

A ding played through the loudspeakers. The six men turned their heads to the gate they had entered through yesterday.

A large 01 was digitally blinking over the gate and 01 stood up. Without hesitating he entered and disappeared behind their only exit of the room. Only few moments later the ding played again and 02 was written on the digital display.

02 followed the order as well and the spiel repeated until all of them had been called to the gate.

All had entered the hallway from the day before and were led by blinking signs into to one of the six different chambers on both sides. All chambers were white, almost sterile, a chair stood in their middles, a large box to the left, with six separated panels on it, and a clothing racket to the right. As they all went closer, they saw that there hung six different types of shirts and a pair of short boxers.

 

_“Remove your current clothing and change into one of the provided garments.”_

 

They did as they were told. As 01 was the first to finish with the task, he had chosen a short-sleeved t-shirt with a turtleneck, and so he got the next order. The box next to his chair quickly flashed up in green and he went over there. The first panel was softly flashing up and a dice was elevated through a small opening in the panel. The opening closed again and 01 took the dice in his hand. It was twelve-sided and had mostly 1s on it with the exception of two sides that were blank and two with 2s on it.

The word ‘THROW’ run over the panel and 01 did follow. He rolled a 1 and the panel right to the first one lit up and a new dice was elevated through an opening on the second panel. This one had five sides and 1 was removed through 6. 01 blinked suspiciously but threw the dice again and rolled a 2.

An electronic drawer drew out of the front side of the box right under the second panel and a brown pill with the lettering 02 came out. 01 wanted to grab it but as he realized that he hadn’t been given the order, he waited and saw how the fourth panel lit up and a six-sided dice came up. The 4 was changed to a 6, 5 to a 9 and 6 to a 12. 01 threw again and got a 9.

Then panel 5 lit up and two normal six-sided dice were elevated through the opening. 01 threw them and got a 7 in total. The sixth panel worked exactly the same as the fifth and there 01 rolled a 5.

In front of the box a new drawer opened and a small light brown disk with a 9 on it, a white pill with a 7 and a glass with 5 dl of a fluid in it were presented to 01.

He started to feel queasy and as the voice gave him the next orders, he felt a huge lump of anxiety forming in his stomach.

 

_“Give the pills into the glass. Eat the disk. Drink the whole liquid, after the pills have dissolved.”_

 

01 threw the 02 and the 7 pills into the glass, took the disk and ate it. If tasted a bit like bread and it lay incredibly heavy in his stomach even though it had been so small. For a second, he waited for the pills to fully dissolve and then emptied the glass in one drink. Immediately he felt like the bread thingy in his stomach had swollen up and a wave of panic rushed through him.

Yet he had no time to worry more as he was told to go and sit on the chair by the voice. By now trembling he sat down, and his wrists and ankles were cuffed to the armrests and footrests. He knew that procedure from the health check-ups in his childhood, but as the backrest was lowered, and he now laid chained down on this chair, he was utterly helpless.

The chair was heating up and he felt some sort of beam slowly running up and down under him. Whatever radiation was shot through him, it did something to the strange mixture of ingredients in his stomach and he had given a lot for just pausing this whole process for only a moment.

 

_“Item 01: You are the Bearer of Order 001. The Donator to 001 is item 02. The Fill-Up time is 9 hours. The Initialisation time is 7 hours. The Labour is 5 hours. The estimated time of delivery is 07:00 on 3. October 1088.”_

 

_“Item 02: You are the Bearer of Order 002. The Donator to 002 is unknown. The Fill-Up time is 2 hours. The Initialisation time is 8 hours. The Labour is 7 hours. The estimated time of delivery is 03:00 on 3. October 1088.”_

 

_“Item 03: You are the Bearer of Order 003. The Donators to 003 are item 04 and item 06. The Fill-Up time is 1 hour. The Initialisation time is 7 hours. The Labour is 10 hours. The estimated time of delivery is 04:00 on 3. October 1088.”_

 

_“Item 04: You are the Bearer of Order 004. The Donators to 004 are item 06 and item 01. The Fill-Up time is 2 hours. The Initialisation time is 6 hours. The Labour is 4 hours. The estimated time of delivery is 22:00 on 2. October 1088.”_

 

_“Item 05: You are the Bearer of Order 005. The Donator to 005 is item 01. The Fill-Up time is 2 hours. The Initialisation time is 9 hours. The Labour is 7 hours. The estimated time of delivery is 04:00 on 3. October 1088.”_

 

_“Item 06: You are the Bearer of Order 006. The Donator to 006 is item 05. The Fill-Up time is 3 hours. The Initialisation time is 6 hours. The Labour is 7 hours. The estimated time of delivery is 02:00 on 3. October 1088.”_

 

The beams stopped, the chair rose up into its initial position and the cuffs drove back into the arm- and footrests.

 

_“You are allowed to leave.”_

 

Panicking 01 ran to the door and rushed out. In the hallway 03 and 06 already stood and 03 was leaning onto the taller man while holding his stomach with a pained expression. Before 01 even could get to them, two other doors were pushed open and 02 and 04 came out, former crying, latter hyperventilating.

03 glimpsed over to 02 and reached with his hand for him, but the young one flinched away and sobbingly ran to the door. The remaining four stared at each other, afraid and clueless what to do next as finally the last door opened and 05 came out. The small man looked at them completely calm and calculated. With clear eyes he observed them, noticed the missing of 02 and sighed.

“02 is panicking, isn’t he?” he asked and walked to the door into their quarters.

As if he had just clicked a switch, the others unfroze and moved towards the door as well, while 03 answered him: “Yes, he is. He must be paralyzed by shock.”

05 nodded and opened the door for 03, who was still holding on 06. The others followed and as 05 closed it again, they heard a click that told them they were locked in here again. Not that they wanted to get back into this hallway ever again, but in the end none of them had a say in this.

Immediately 05 headed left and found 02 laying between the bean bags crying his eyes out. He felt the others behind him staring at the poor kid and he himself felt bad for him as well. He was the youngest of them. Still only 19, not ready to be part of such an experiment. He couldn’t quite get behind the thoughts of the Foreman’s choice. Neither of these men, at least as far as he knew up to his point, was exceptional in mind or bodily capability. Some of them even were mildly flawed, as 01 with the growing vitiligo on his ebony skin or 06 who had only mastered the second education level.

Yet sending a small, self-conscious teen into this felt outright reckless and 05 had trouble to not curse this dooming place loudly. But now was not the time for anger or headless actions. He needed all of them as calm as possible, since something was growing in them and they had to figure out how to get through this together. Because together was the only option they had at this point and so he went over to the small one and kneeled down.

“Buddy… Look at me.”

02 pressed his knees to his chest and 05 moved closer. He was shaking and he needed him to stop and listen now, so he put his hand on his shoulder and softly pulled on them as a sign to sit up. Behind them, 04, 03 and 06 sat down o the closer coach, 03 leaning forwards and holding his stomach.

“I need you to look at me, kid. Come on. We are getting through this and I need you to be with us, in order to keep you safe as well. Come. Sit up”, he continued ignoring the nausea rumbling in his guts.

Finally, the little man turned his head, looked at him and then glimpsed over his shoulder to 01 who stood behind them and offered him a hand. Still crying, but a bit more reasonable at least, he sat up, took 01 hand and moved with him to the second couch. 04 reached over to him from the other couch and took his hand and squeezed it in comfort.

05 stood in front of the five men and nodded at them earnestly, put his hands on his hips and strictly stated: “So, we apparently now are carrying out some sort of specimen. Duration of the different stages were given to us and the next hours will be hard. I do not know if this will be repeated, I’m not lying, I believe they will repeat this with us as they numbered the specimens, yet let’s focus on the situation at hand.

First: Did all of you have to eat one numbered disk-bread?”

They nodded in union.

“Second”, 05 continued then with no hesitation, “did you all have to resolve the brown and white pill in the fluid and drink it?”

There 03 and 04 shook their heads and 05 called them up to speak.

“I had two brown pills and a white one. It probably because I rolled a two on the first panel”, 03 explained and drew over his stomach.

04 nodded with him and agreed: “The same for me. I had a 6 and a 1.”

05 furrowed his brows and nodded. He was about to continue as 02 stopped him and said: “My brown pill wasn’t numbered. I had a zero.”

05 looked at him and rose his eyebrow in question. He continued with bitterness in his voice: “Said ‘unknown’ is the donator for mine. So, I’m not carrying one of yours.”

05 clicked his tongue and subconsciously threw a look to 01 whose he was supposed to carry. It was probably better not to think too much about the donator or donators in some cases. It would complicate their situation more and he couldn’t risk drama in times like this.

“You are probably right”, 05 told 02 and wandered around a bit before moving on.

“And I am glad that you are thinking fast and connecting dots, yet let’s focus on this Fill-Up, Initialisation and Labour parts. They will be the stressful things for the next moments. All right?”

Again, he got a universal nod and asked for their Fill-Up time. 02, 04 and he had all a time of two hours, 06 three and 01 nine.

“I have an hour”, 03 finally mumbled and stressfully pointed at his belly that already looked a bit curvier.

05 gulped and started to understand why the normally so rosy pink man seemed so pale. He himself didn’t feel so high right now but 03 was going through this in half of the time.

“Good. 03 you are allowed to leave and rest if you need to. Also, 01 is the one who is probably going to be the most mobile until 19:00, so I’d be glad if you would be willing to assist us as best as your abilities let you.”

01 nodded and motioned 05 to continue. Despite the seriousness of the situation 05 shot him a smile, grateful that he had known the man from their cultivation and schooling together.

“Perfect. Thank you. Now, I do not know what initialisation means. As far as I know a foetus doesn’t need to be initialized when it is fully grown in the womb, but technically we shouldn’t be able to be carrying a foetus in the first place, so let us ignore that. Any ideas what that might mean?”

“Maybe their cerebral and sensory functions are booted up then? Like, in the Fill-Up they develop the body parts, but in the initialisation, they get activated? I mean, that should happen during the course of the pregnancy, but this isn’t by any means a pregnancy anymore. No intercourse, no sperm or egg to speak off and for fucks sake we were all sterilized.

So, it might as well be that, right?”

All of them looked at 03. They were perplexed to hear him curse as he had seemed to be the politest and most restrained from them all.

As more nausea run through 05 bones, he got an idea where 03’s aggression had come from, waved it off and told him: “Good points. Might be right. We’ll have to wait and see. You’ll be able to tell us first after all and soon we get to know for ourselves anyway.

Now how long will your initialisation go? Mine’s 9 hours so contraction’s and labour will probably start around 21:00.”

03 and 04 had respectively 7 and 6 hours and would go in first at approximately 18:00. Next would be 06 with also six hours which would end at 19:00. Then would come 02 with 8 hours at 20:00 and 05 would come an hour later. For 01 this would go on much longer and he would only go into labour at 02:00 the next day as he had 7 hours initialisation time.

After they had discussed that the men stopped for a moment. All of them glimpse over to 03 whose stomach was visibly sticking out now and 02, 04 and 05 felt the cloth of their tops slightly stretching as well by now. Maybe they had been talking for fifteen minutes or so, but this was madness. They had only discussed it now, but still it was so surreal that they hadn’t fully realized yet that this really was happening to them.

“I’ll be in labour for 10 hours. The voice said I’m done at 04:00.”

At that all of them became pale and 04 laid his arm around 03 who apparently was meant to only suffer during this horrible process.

“I’ll be there as well. We finish at the same time”, 05 stated and finally got over to the others and sat down next to 01 as his legs were feeling more and more rubbery from moment to moment.

He didn’t see it but 03 smiled at that and was glad to hear it. Having 05 with him at that moment might make things easier. He was such a strong figure and only within the first minutes after they had met, 03 had known that he would be the one all of them could count on.

02 sniffed his nose, leaned on 01 and added: “I’m done an hour earlier.”

“02:00 for me”, 06 said and patted 03’s knee.

Again, silence came up and only some almost breathless yelps from 03 hung in the air. The bump was visible now and the others feared the moment when this would happen to them too.

“I’ll be first to finish then. 22:00. Huh. Hopefully, it will go down all right for me, so you don’t need to be too scared”, 04 half-heartedly joked and pulled 03 closer to his chest.

03 looked up to him and gave him a brave smile. This was the optimism they needed right now and considering that 04 just had calmed down from a panic attack, this optimism was truly heroic. So, he hugged him back and placed his forehead on his should, mumbling gently: “I’m sure you’ll be outstanding. Don’t worry. And if something goes wrong, it’s these awful people fault. We have nothing to do with it. If the kids aren’t all right, we -”

“Don’t say that just yet”, 05 interrupted. “We don’t wanna challenge the odds, do we? Let’s prepare for the worst, yes. But hope for the best. It’s all we have in here, beside each other.”

And so, their conversation ended for the moment. Soon, 03 stood up and got himself water from a supply closet and 02 went over to 04 and huddled himself with him into the beanbags as they quietly talked. 06 silently thanked 05 for his quick reaction, went to get his playing cards and played something on his own on the big table in the right half of their huge room. 01 joined him and watched the cards as he played.

05 observed the troupe quietly for some time. He had managed to get them into a relatively calm and relaxed state. Now it was time for him to calm down as well and soon he was drawn to 03, who had lain down under the round window in the ceiling.

It was up high and unreachable for all of them, as the ceiling was at least 6 meters high, but 03 had found his liking in the round thing from the very first second, he had seen it. Admittedly, it was the first time for all of them to even see so called sky, and it had fascinated them, but 03 was caught up with it in particular. He had almost cried yesterday, as he had discovered it and 01 had brought some pillows and a blanket to lay beneath it, so 03 could stare, maybe even nap under it whenever he wanted.

They now had the time to do such things, after all. They had been chosen for this project and this was their life now. No more schooling, cultivation and training schedules for them. They were here now, that was what they had all learnt from their instructors a few weeks ago and they had been prepared for that.

05 placed himself on the blanket. When they had come in here, it had seemed too good at first. There were books for entertainment, pencils to draw, cards and dices to play, equipment to train and the décor was warm and homely. They had enough space to be, all a room and little bath of their own and a bigger bath with a small pool to sit in for all of them. The food was brought to them through a gate in the wall and it was good. Everything had seemed so nice and it had made them all suspicious. This was not how they were used to be treated. No discipline, no rules and no supervisor.

He looked up to the ceiling, faintly into the direction of the camera they had all noticed within the first twenty minutes. It hadn’t been a surprise, but it had fuelled their suspicion even more and now they had proven to be right.

“Now it makes sense, why they always were so meticulous over human anatomy and especially pregnancy in class, right?” 03 asked 05 and startled him a bit.

05 caught himself and shrugged.

“It sure does.

…

How are you feeling?”

“You are not a feely one, are you?”

05 shot him a look and sighed. He always had heard that, and it wasn’t better to hear it now.

“No, I’m told I’m not. Sorry, for offending you then.”

“You didn’t offend me. I’m touched that you try to emphasise, even though it’s hard for you. You did really good.”

“… Good.”

03 chuckled and smiled up at him. 05 blinked down and watched the blond hair fall into the other’s face and the freckles dancing on his nose. 03 had a high level five education like him. He was in the year after him and he had heard many talk about him and several had told stories about his charm and beauty.

They hadn’t lied and 05 couldn’t quite deny that he had started to agree with his former colleagues. 05 was indeed a bit charmed by the other and somehow, he had the feeling that some of the others in here had the potential to do the same to him.

He wasn’t too sure how to feel about that, so he decided to push that aside and asked 03 again: “But how are you feeling? Does it hurt?”

His belly had grown more and 05 knew felt that his own was bigger too but with 03 it was plain obvious right now.

He smiled and petted his stomach, before he looked up to his window.

“It’s better now. I’m getting used to it. I never felt such a sensation before, so I guess that’s what made it so painful in the first place. How are you holding up though? You’re pretty pale and you look a bit sweaty.”

05 grunted and looked up to the window as well.

“It’s fine. This is probably nothing in comparison to what we’ll go through in some hours. I’m not quite sure what to expect. Better I do not think about it at all. Whatever this is, it lies beyond our imagination.”

“You might be right.”

03 had reached out for his hand and laid it on his belly. 05 glanced down at him and waited for him to continue.

“I mean, even I don’t know what’s going to happen next and they always said I had a great imagination. – He laughed and shot a look to 05 – Maybe after all, it really was just the fact that I was allowed to look at story books from the Outside.

They talked about magic and mystical creatures, the fae, mermaids and vampires and so much more. I loved it. It’s sad that it isn’t real. I’d like to have a pair of wings and fly around in the sky.

I mean – Look at it.

Isn’t it the most perfect blue you’ve ever seen?”

05 rose his eyebrows and supressed a laugh. His words seemed so ridiculous but then again, he felt that they bore a sense of freedom. A mind that wasn’t bound to these halls and maybe would even bloom on the Outside. Maybe this was what had made him so attractive to the others; the fact that he had a free mind beside being trapped inside of this hellscape.

Lost in thoughts 05 patted over 03’s belly and the blond contently let him continue. He was a tough man, who was said to rarely show his desires and emotions. The intimacy he felt in his words and movements was unusual to say the least and he already regretted it as he felt the need to sit up and put himself in a more comfortable position.

05 pulled his arm away and let 03 sit up. Both stared at his stomach and 03 glanced then over to the clock. 09:38. Barely twenty minutes left.

He asked 05 to help him up and got his assistance as they made their way over to table. 06 and 01 greeted them and 03 asked if they knew how to play Pinochle, which all denied and so the man thought the three how to play a trick-taking card game he had read about several years ago. 06 quickly got the idea of it and asked 03 to be in his team, as 05 and 01 formed the other team. Soon 06 dealt the cards and they began to play.

Team 03 and 06 won the bidding and made hearts trump in the first round. As they played, 02 and 04 got up and sat down with them.

The first round was over and 03 pulled away from the table. His belly was full, and he felt the skin of his stomach itch and sting. Otherwise he felt quite fine, even though he admittedly wasn’t too sure how to feel about the fact that he could no longer see his feet, while standing up. He then looked to 05, 04 and 02 who all had visible bumps as well by now.

He turned to the clock. 10:01. His initialisation began.

For a moment he felt all eyes on him, before a warm sensation, slightly electrifying, crept through his veins and he carefully touched his stomach. The baby was reacting to the signals with little hitches and movements, but it felt a bit hollow to 03. All in all, it wasn’t an intense feeling and he preferred this a lot to the Fill-Up phase from before. It was a lot less exhausting.

“You can stop staring. I’m good. It’s nothing too intense. Little waves, and the kid is slightly reacting on the impulses, but nothing drastic. I feel better than I did when it was still growing”, 03 told them with a smile.

Relieved 04 let out a huff and 02 looked more relaxed as well. 01 and 06 exchanged a calmed look and watched 03 sitting down again.

“How is it for you two? Are you feeling okay?” he asked 02 and 04.

04 happily nodded and winked over the table while putting his elbow on the plate and supporting his chin seductively: “I feel perfect considering the fact that I’m gaining weight with every minute and am losing my top-notch figure. But then I look at you, and admittedly your curves look rather sharp, my dearest.”

03 started to giggle and the others gave the jokester and amused look, except 05 who rolled his eyes and collected the cards.

“My, thank you, but it’s not going to stay like this for too long so don’t get used to it. Also, I’m still worried about you 02. Are you feeling better? You were really upset before and you still haven’t talked a lot since then.”

The youngest looked up to 03 and nodded. He let out a deep breath and explained: “I calmed down; I think. And the Fill-Up isn’t hurting me, so that’s good.

I’m just worried what were going to do with these kids… I don’t know how to take care of one, I mean we looked at it in class, but I’m not sure if I want to take care of it. I can barely take care of myself, so how am I supposed to look after a little, completely on help depending creature? It’s worrisome.”

01, 03, 04 and 06 stared at him wordlessly. They had pushed away the thoughts about what would happen after the delivery and what 02 said was unnervingly true. They might have all acted as if they were much more experienced than 02, but in reality, they all only had entered their twenties. 01 was 23 and the oldest of the group. They were nowhere near ready to teach, care for and educate a kid.

“And you only got a up to the third education level?” 05 dryly asked and started shuffling the deck.

“You make great points, kid. But we’re six people and I start to see how our personalities might play together and how we would be able to cover each other’s weaknesses.

Also, raising a child is by far not the worst thing I could imagine. Surely challenging, but also fun.”

At that 04 let out a shocked grunt while the others simply froze on their chairs, hit by the unexpected softness of their hard leader.

“Wait.”

05 looked to 01, who watched him with deep scepticism.

“Are you telling me that you are looking forward to become the care figure of an infant? Are you really telling me that?”

“Why so surprised? You were always the one to point out that I liked taking care of everything. So why would that be different with children?”

“Because the responsibility is a completely different one? These creatures will die if you’re not doing your job correctly and -”

“I don’t intend failing. And I won’t let you fail either. These specimens are made of our DNA and are part of this group. I will make sure that they will receive everything they need, and I know, you will be a sufficient support in that mission.”

There 01 actually began to belly laugh and got an unimpressed look by 05. He leaned back and crossed his leg over the other.

“Keep it together, Spotty. I’m not that funny”, 05 lectured him.

“Oh, wow, Spotty? I’m honoured. You rarely used that nick name to begin with and the Spotty version is truly special for you”, 01 grinned and leaned over the table to give 05 a gentle shove.

The man grunted in return and stoically looked to the side.

“I’m sorry but do we get an explanation for this or are we left without commentary for this obscure inside jokes?” 06 asked looking from one to the other.

01 laughed and nodded as 05 still remained uncooperative.

“Sure. We were put in the same classes for a long time. I got into the level four education and some of the courses were also for the lever fiver, so we often met. For some time, we even had sleeping rooms next to each other and I’d consider him my friend by now.

And well, because of my vitiligo under my eye, which looks a bit like a circle, they sometimes called me spot.

Not many do it anymore and he was always reluctant to do it at all, so I’m a bit surprised hearing him using it in a diminutive form.”

“You used nick names?” 02 babbled out and for the first time the others got to see the young man excited with sparkling eyes.

Softly 01 told him: “Yeah, we did sometimes. Not in front of the supervisors, of course, but within us it happened quite often.”

“Were you these poor kids that were constantly told not to use them? I heard that they did that with the year after us”, 04 asked and looked over to 06 who had heard the same rumours.

“Mhm. They did that. But could we use nick names now? I like it! It’s a lot better than 02 and stuff! I always wanted a name and not a stupid number! I’m more than a recruit and item. I’m a person and I want a name.”

The youngest frowned determinedly and looked to 05 with his pledge. The elder shrugged and told him curtly: “I have no say in this, kid. If you want one, take one. I’ll call you whatever you like. They can’t stop us from using names anyway.”

03 watched 05 putting his hand on his own growing stomach and gently petting it. He certainly had a liking for the thing inside of him, despite it causing him so much distress as he noticed that he had grown paler again.

Apparently 02 was too excited to notice 05’s paling and started rambling about some possible names for himself which he instantly dismissed again, as they did not fit. It made the others smile and after a while 06 raised his voice and patiently asked 02: “Do you not want to give it a bit more time? It’s not easy for everyone to get a name this fast. Maybe you could help us others to find one in the meantime. What do you think?”

Excitedly 02 nodded and asked him: “Do you have already ideas for you? Something you would like?”

For a second 06 blinked confused and then took one of the cards they had to take out of the deck to play pinochle. It was a joker and a smile grew on his face. No suit, no number, no court card. A card with no label assigned and no boundaries. The luckiest card in his opinion.

“Joker. I’d like that a lot.”

04 frowned and 02 clapped his hands together in euphoria.

“That’s a great name! Joker is great! We shall call you Joker now!” 02 exclaimed and jumped up from his chair.

03 and 01 started laughing at his sudden outburst and Joker shot him a soft smile full of gratitude.

Happily, 02 looked into the round and asked: “Have any of you already an idea for a name? I’d love to hear it!”

01 shrugged and said: “Well, I’m fine with being Spot. I like it and it’s easy enough to remember.”

Enthusiastically 02 nodded and 01 turned to Spot.

The others didn’t know how to call themselves and eventually they decided to resume their game, this time 02 and 04 joining them. They built 3 teams out of Spot and 05, 02 and Joker and lastly 03 and 04. Soon enough it was clear that putting 05 and Spot together wasn’t the fairest decision as they were far too familiar with one another and managed to outplay all of the strategically.

Yet they more than once lost a round due to the uncanny luck of Joker who somehow almost always had two pairs of pinochles and several other melds. 02 enjoy the winning immensely and like this their distress eased away for a bit.

As the clock soon was about to strike 12:00 02, 04 and 05 were almost as round as 03 now and they had all moved their chairs back from the table, so their bumps wouldn’t bump into the plate.

04 laid his cards down and pushed his braid over his shoulder. Then he looked down at his dome in long compliance. 03 watched him do it and was the first to turn as 04 stood up and waddled over to the shelves next to the bean bags. On that wall was a huge mirror and the tall man stood still in front of it. The others turned to him as well and saw how 04 pulled up his t-shirt to watch his big belly. He had a dark line on his brown stomach and the belly button was pushed out. 04 blinked and took a deep breath. It was surreal. His back hurt a little and his guts felt compromised, due to the foetus in his belly.

And yet… He grinned at the curve and carefully petted over the skin. Maybe 05 was right. Maybe this child could bring him joy despite the situation they were in.

“You have moles even on your stomach?” came it from 02.

Deadpanned 04 turned back to the table, while pulling his shirt down and told the young one: “How are you focused on the moles when I have a baby bump? And why in the Foreman’s name wouldn’t they be on my stomach?”

02 shrugged and said vaguely motioning to his own bump: “I have a baby bump myself, so that’s not as interesting as the moles I don’t have.”

04 tilted his head to the side and walked back to the table with his hands on his belly.

“Fair enough, I guess. And these clothes are incredibly stretchy by the way. I had no trouble pulling it back down-”, 04 began but was interrupted by a ding.

All shut their mouth and saw how their food was rolled in through the drawer in the wall. Panicking 02 turned to the digital time display.

12:00.

Spot watched 02, 04 and 05 in concern. They didn’t know if the initialisation would be the same for everybody and as 05 grew even paler, Spot feared that it was not as “pleasant” as it was for 03.

A moment passed and suddenly 04 felt a strange, strong tickling sensation run through him which was gone in seconds. At the same time 02 only felt a short series of gentle stings rush through his dome and he cautious touched his belly as the feeling ebbed away.

“I... I think I’m okay. And … we should probably eat lunch”, said 02 and looked over to 04, who nodded and went to get some of the trays.

Spot and Joker got up as well to help their heavily pregnant fellow. Just as they got the food, 05 sprung on his feet and ran into his room.

Hastily Spot put his two trays on the table and rushed after him, as they heard puking. At that Spot stopped on his track. He gulped and slowly took a step back. He was not good with vomit and just at the thought he felt his stomach turn.

As he had frozen, 03 had gotten on his feet and determinedly went into 05’s room. With no hesitation he got into the bathroom, where the man cowered over the toilet seat and emptied his stomach. With a heavy sigh, 03 poured him a glass of water from the sink and waddled over to the bathtub and sat down on its edge.

05 was shaking and sweat was forming on his forehead. Finally, he stopped heaving and 03 handed him the glass.

“But everything is all right, huh?”

05 shot him a lethal glare and sipped on the water. His belly didn’t hurt. His heart had been racing and the nausea had been unbearable until some seconds ago but now he felt a lot better. Relieved he inhaled and exhaled through his mouth and touched his stomach. It felt like something was vibrating inside of him, a stimming feeling like sound waves.

Tiredly he drove over his eyes with his hand and then shot 03 a look. He was observing him sceptically.

“I’m all right. I need to lie down. Help me get up and I’ll take a nap”, 05 ordered him around and stretched out his hand to reach for 03’s arm.

The blond lent him his support and 05 got back on his feet. Slowly 03 guided him back to his bed and asked on the way: “You sure you don’t want to eat first?”

03 literally saw 05 burping and paling just at the mentioning of food and was not surprised as he told him: “That would not stay down right now.”

And so, 05 let him slip into his bed and covered him with his blanket, leaving the glass of water on his nightstand, went to the door and dimmed the light before he exited and closed the door. As he entered their hall, all eyes laid on him and he shrugged in response.

“I had asked him before, if he was okay but apparently, he feeling nauseous counts as feeling ‘all right’ in his realm. Not sure why, but here we are. He’s napping now”, 03 explained and sat down on their table.

The others nodded and they quietly started their meal. They did not talk much, as exhaustion slowly was coming over them and as they finished 02, 03 and also 04 decided to go for a nap as well. Spot and Joker remained in the hall and started playing pinochle again. They calmly talked to another and killed the time until Joker’s Fill-Up reached its final state. Just as the other’s Joker’s hands more than once stroked over his round belly and the fullness inside him felt rather smothering at this point.

Yet as the clock turned to 13:00 and his Fill-Up was completed, he barely felt anything besides a faint sense of relief and continued playing with Spot for some time.

Time run by and the next few hours were rather uneventful, as four of them were sleeping in their rooms and Joker and Spot were well entertained by playing various card games. The only thing that changed was Spot’s stomach that grew rounder than it was before.

He always had been rather chubby, and the additional weight of the baby didn’t show so much in the beginning as it did with the rest of them, with their thin hips and flat bellies. Yet, as the time changed to 16:46, even he looked pregnant.

Joker yawned and put the cards away. He excused himself and went to the couch, where he would lie down for a moment. Spot in the meanwhile started to put away the cards and cleaned the room slowly and steadily. He found peace in such mundane activities and when 05 came out half an hour later, he was happy to give him his plate from lunch which he had put into the fridge they had.

As 05 munched the mashed potatoes Spot quietly started talking: “You really should have listened to 03. We can’t have you sick in situations like this.”

05 swallowed, nodded lightly and responded: “I’m aware.”

“Are you though? I’m not sure if you understand how much the others rely on you already. It is rather impressive to see a man who just found out he’s pregnant, taking control over the situation in complete coolness and then organizing five other pregnant men.

We will need you in this. There’s no one but you, who can put us through this.”

05 watched him closely, slowly nodded again and repeated with emphasis: “I am aware, Spot.”

Spot sighed and stood up. Calmly he walked around and stroked over his growing stomach with a clouded mind. Eventually he found himself sitting down on the couch next to the still napping joker. The man slowly woke up and when 05 had finished his meal and put the dirty plate back into the drawer in the wall, Joker motioned him to come over to them. 05 followed, Joker sat up patted to the spot next to him for 05 to sit down. He followed through and sat down next to him.

“Can I touch your stomach?” Joker asked 05 after a few seconds.

With confusion in his eyes 05 uttered: “Be my guest.”

Gently Joker laid his hand on 05’s stomach and slowly caressed it. 05 shivered at the touch only now realized how sensitive that part of his body had become. For a second, he thought about shoving Joker’s hand away but the bliss he got out of the touch outweighed that idea at once and he let him continue.

At once Joker said with a low voice, his hand still on 05 belly: “I know that you do not want to talk about the donators to avoid drama, but…

\- He glanced at him with a soft smile – I’m carrying yours.”

05’s eyes got big and he looked down at the other’s dome. Joker chuckled lightly, leaned close over to him and whispered: “I know that you have Spot’s. I saw you looking at him when the topic came up. I’m glad for you. And I’m grateful for me. You’ll be good to them.”

With that he laid his arm around 05 shoulder and leaned his head on 05’s. helpless 05 shot Spot a look, but the man only stood up in amusement to get himself some water.

Just then 03 and 04 came out of their rooms, both looking slightly jittery. It dawned Spot that soon their labour would initialize and so he waddled into their bath to check if there was something that might ease their pain, when it would set in. To his surprise he found that here was a small panel with buttons next to the pool and he examined the buttons gingerly. After some musing, he realized that with them he could separate some areas in the pool so both could be in there without containing the other’s water. Also, there were some buttons to change out the water and control the temperature for the different areas, so things were perfectly adapted to every individual.

“03, 04? Would you come for a moment?” he cried for them and soon enough both men came into the room.

With one push he elevated a divider in the pool and shot them a look. 04 gulped and glanced to 03, who frowned.

“So, what do you think of a water birth?” Spot asked and looked at their bellies.

03 stepped back, while 04 bit his lips and asked: “That’s supposed to hurt less, right?”

Spot nodded and 04 went closer to the water. Trembling he pulled his t-shirt over his head laid it on the sitting bench. He looked down at his bump, sighed and slowly eased himself into one of the separated areas. He looked back to 03 who shook his head and instead sat down on a bench, nervously rubbing his belly.

They knew that at any moment it would be 18:00 and the contractions would set in. Spot watched them as suddenly 03 let out a paid yelp as his stomach hardened and the first contraction ripped through him. 04 whimpered only seconds later and cradled his belly in the water. Within seconds 04 had tears in his eyes and as the first contraction ebbed away, he slowly started sobbing as he could barely bear the pain. And he would have to get through four hours of this. This was miserable.

Spot petted 03’s arm, shot him a brave smile and then took of his shoes. Carefully he sat down on the pools edge next to 04 and held out his hand. The man grabbed it immediately as if it was his lifeline and shot Spot a grateful look. He could never get through this on his own. Never.

The next contraction only came several minutes later for 04 and 03 waited even 20 minutes until the second contraction hit him. Tense they endured the waiting knowing fully well that the others in the hall heard their pained noises during their contractions.

An hour had almost passed, as Joker came inside as well, ready for his labour to begin, and sat down next to 03. He gave him a brave look, in the back of his mind that 05 had to calm down 02 on his own now, as the youngest was panicking at the pained cries of 03 and 04.

But soon his thoughts were forgotten as punctually on 19:00 his labour set in and pain due to the hardening of his dome set in. Joker managed to swallow down any noise of pain he could make but his eyes were wet from tears and after it had stopped, he grabbed for 03’s hand, who kindly lent it to him.

They forgot the time, or that Spots initialisation just had begun and suffered through the next minutes as 04’s contractions only got faster, and his whimpering got weaker. They had known that he had a low pain tolerance and every minute of this seemed to be torture for him. Not that it was less painful for them, but the dismay in which 04 found himself was not comparable to theirs.

They almost missed how 02 came in and only saw him as he put his tank top on their bench and went over to pool in a separated section. 04 waved at him and 02 smiled in response. Apparently, 05 had done a well enough job in calming the man.

In the middle of distressed noises Spot remained calm next to 04’s side. The time between his contractions grew shorter and shorter and he realized that soon 04’s child would be ready to go down the birth channel. When that happened, he would need 04 to push and the more he looked at the man, the less he was sure if he could complete that task.

While worrying over 04 he eventually forgot that 05’s labour had started at 21:00. And 05 had not come inside to the others. He stayed outside, walked across the hall and suffered through the contractions on his own. He needed to focus and understand the sensation he felt right now, before he could face the others. So, he stayed alone listening and hoping for his friends inside the bath.

“Agh… please… stop”, 04 mumbled and felt how his child had finally entered the birth channel.

Intuitively he started rubbing his dome, took off the shorts and spread out his legs, hoping it somehow would move the process forward. It did not work as well as he wanted but as Spot motivated him to push, he felt how his child slowly moved down. Crying and panting he continued, too determined to give in in exhaustion and pushed his child further down, until it finally crowned.

Slightly shifting he reached down for the little head, took a last breath and pushed once more. He caught the little creature and pulled it out of the water. It was a boy. Dark skin and little brown hair.

04 yelped.

He wasn’t breathing.

04 sobbed.

His child was dead.

With tears in his eyes Spot cut the umbilical cord and took 04 in his arms, who was cradling the dead infant to his chest. Only slowly he managed to get him out of the pool, put a blanket over his shoulders and guided him outside to the hall. He looked back to the others who were speechless and hurt with grief for the child but weren’t able to say a single word.

As he stepped outside, a sweaty 05 stood in front of them and looked in 04 eyes. He stared at him and the infant, as if he waited for allowance until 04 nodded and let him see the little one’s face. 05 gulped, softly drew over the child forehead and then faced 04.

“I’m sorry for your loss. I’m sorry you’re first going through this. Your pain is inexplicable, and I know you did everything you could to give it a proper life. What you did was enough.

They messed with us and they messed up with this kid’s life. Had it only been for you, it had lived. I know it would have.”

04 cried and nodded, as 05 gave him a slight hug and entered the bath, leaving him and Spot behind. Spot brought him to the couch and sat with him for several minutes.

 

“It’s alright. It’s alright. We get through this.”

 

Worried Spot looked at him. 04 met his gaze and let out a sigh. He looked back down to his child and sadly smiled. They heard a ding and 04 was not surprised to see the wall opening behind him, with a box for his child’s body. He stood up and made it known with a wave that Spot should remain on his place. Wobbly, he walked to the opening and stopped in front of it. He kissed his forehead and smiled alas.

“You’ve got many moles like me, don’t you?” he said and slightly poked one on baby’s cheek.

“So many dots, just like your parent. They say ‘Connect the dots’, right? So, let’s make that my name. For you. So, we’ll be connected, okay?”

He blinked a tear away and carefully laid his baby into the box. It was laid out with a soft, little mattress and a small blanket lay on it. Softly he pulled it over the baby’s body and stood back, while the opening closed, and his child was taken away. With a sigh he went back to Spot and hugged him.

He sat back up and told Spot he would get a shirt and water to drink. Before Spot could interfere, he was already on his way and on weak legs went into his room. It took him quite some time until he came back, but now he held two glasses in his hands, wore a pair of long sweatpants and the usual t-shirt.

He sat down next to Spot and gave him a glass. His left-over bump was slowly shrinking back to its initial state, and he didn’t feel ready to just turn back to normal yet.

“You don’t think Dot is a stupid name, right?”

Spot shook his head under tears and Dot laid his arm around him.

“You should go and lie down for some time. You’ve looked after us for so long and the hardest part’s just approaching for you. Come, lets get you in your room”, Dot told Spot and helped him up.

And so Dot brought Spot in his room and ended up laying in his bed with him for the next hours until Spot’s labour would set in.

Meanwhile in the bath, Joker had gone into the pool and 03 and 05 were gripping each other’s hands through the pain of the contractions. They could barely suffer through the hours but yet nobody was ready to give up quite yet. And so, they moaned and cried until sometime after midnight Joker finally felt his kid entering the birth canal. It took him a while until he finally managed to push him down, and 02 had started pushing by now as well, but at 02:04 Joker had managed to push his child out.

Afraid he took the kid and saw soon that his baby was dead as well. A girl this time, lighter sink than his but black hair. He smiled and huffed. Everything around him seemed to fade and he waited quite a while until he found the strength to get up and leave the room. As he exited the pool, he dried himself with a towel, threw over his long maxi-shirt and went to 05.

For a moment the man looked at his kid and then turned away. Joker inwardly nodded, gave 05 a kiss on the cheek and left. He soon would have to put his child into a box as well, as he would find out in some minutes.

In the hall he met Dot and Spot, latter leaning on the former walking him through the room and helping him with the pain of his starting contractions. As they saw Joker Dot’s eyes became glum and Spot pushed away newly forming tears in his eyes.

“Yours too?” Dot breathlessly muttered and Joker simply nodded.

The opening opened for him and he brought his girl to the small box. Just as Dot before he tucked his little one in and then excused himself, after the opening had closed, and went to his room to lay down.

Then a loud cry came out of the bath, directly followed with 05 hoarse voice shouting: “FOOUR! PLEASE!”

Dot gave Spot a look and the latter motioned him to follow the cry and sat down on the couch.

So, Dot rushed in and stared to 05 who immediately pointed to 02 who was about to finish labour.

Quickly got behind 02 and held his shoulders.

“I don’t want anymore!” 02 wept and shook his head in agony. “I don’t want to look at its dead face! I don’t, I can’t! Please!”

“No, 02 don’t give up”, Dot spoke gently and squeezed his shoulders.

“Yours might be the one that breaths. Yours might be the one that will smile at us one day. Don’t give up. You can do this just as you helped us getting our names! I found mine now too, and I’ll tell you what it is, when you’re done, so come on, and push! Push!”

And so, 02 shrieked and yelled until he pushed out his baby. Hopefully, Dot reached for it.

He could not face 02.

The young had closed his eyes and laid his head on the pools edge.

His child never cried for air.

His was not the one to live.

Still, he was glad enough that it was over now.

02 opened his eyes and took his kid as Dot maneuverer him out of the pool. He glanced at it. A boy, similar skin and hair like his own. So be it, he thought and then looked up to Dot, who had guided him to the bench where he dried him with a towel and handed him the tank top he had worn before.

“What’s it?”

Dot blinked confused until it suddenly hit him what 02 meant. He swallowed and nervously laughed looking to the side: “It’s Dot.”

02 smiled at that, bowed his head and let him lead him outside.

03 was crying at that point and 05 asked between contractions if they should head inside the bath as well. The blond only managed to mutter a fain 'mhm' and leaning on each other they made it to the pool. Barely they got out of their shorts, left the tops on and went into two separated areas next to each other.

03 was worn out and weak as he had to start pushing yet continued as 05 encouraged him between pushing out his own child.

Around 04:00 both reached the end and gave birth to two boys. 03’s was blond with brown skin and 05’s black haired with dark skin. Neither was alive.

03 pulled himself out of the pool and kissed the infants head several times before he got up to dry himself and get a new shirt. He did not wait for 05 who remained there for far longer, cradling his child and watching his dead face. As 03 went outside holding the dead child with grim expression he was met by the looks of Dot, Joker and 02, latter two huddled together next by the beanbags and former petting Spots back.

They didn’t need to ask, as 03 looked to the side and took a deep breath before for also he had to put his dead child into the small box. Wordlessly he then walked over to 02 and Joker and threw himself at their side. Joker took him in his arms, patted his back and 02 leaned on him and reassuringly gripped his hand.

“Where’s – 05?”

03 looked up and turned to Spot who had asked him between his contractions. 03 gulped and mildly glanced towards the direction of the bath. He had been in there for a long time, hadn’t he?

“He… I guess he took it harder than I did? Maybe I should go check on him?”

Just as 03 was about to get himself back on his feet 05 came out, barely looking at the others and walked right over to the wall. It opened, he laid his child inside with a sniff and went to the couch. He didn’t look at anybody but started to draw circles over Spot’s back.

They stared at him but didn’t dare to say a word. They couldn’t read the room and as he neither wept nor otherwise mourned, they no clues on how to react properly in such situation.

“05…”, Spot began but 05 shook his head and looked at him.

Calmly he laid his hand on the others stomach and explained with the most collected voice: “Concentrate on yourself right now. We’ll discuss later. I’ll end up alright.”

Spot nodded weakly and 05 gave him a side-hug after that and finally looked into the round. With his usual certain demeanour back in track he turned and addressed 02, 03 and Joker: “It might be better for you to go and clean yourself properly. Then sleep. If you’re not comfortable alone, chose a room. We shouldn’t stay all in the hall for the whole night.”

Then he turned to Dot and told him: “I’ll go and clean myself as well. Then I’ll take over here. You shall get your rest too.”

With that he stood up looked to them and waited for their agreement. As they all nodded, he walked to his room and got himself cleaned up. 02 and 03 followed orders as Joker told them to come into his room after, since he had already changed and cleaned himself.

Ten minutes later 02 and 03 disappeared in Joker’s room and five minutes after that 05 came back into the hall to take Dot’s place.

As they were alone in the hall 05 finally let his shoulders slump a bit and gave Spot his hand to squeeze it, as a new contraction run through him.

“You know… it’s not … your … fault?” Spot panted and glanced at him as the pain disappeared for some moments.

Weakly 05 smiled and nodded.

“I know. At least in my mind I know. It does not feel like it though.

But it’s working. They needed to rest, Spot. And I can’t sleep now. Maybe in the next night, but not now.”

Spot watched him, nodded and swallowed a cry down as the next contraction came. Carefully , 05 helped him on his feet and led him into the bath. He let Spot sit down on the bench and went over to change the water in the separated parts. Then he sat back next to him and heard him whimper. He had been through this for the longest time and 05 was truly admiring him for his strength.

“Let’s get me into the pool, yeah?” Spot whispered and 05 brought him there.

As the man pulled down the shorts and spread his legs, he gave 05 a last glance and mumbled: “You know that this one won’t be alive, right? They haven’t figured out how to actually make it work just yet.”

05 just nodded and supported Spots back as he started to push out his child. It took them an hour and a half to bring the child forth, only to see that it was dead like the others.

Still he took it in his arms and watched it with a sad smile for some moments. Few black hairs, skin far fairer than his own but still brown. Also, a boy, he realized and suppressed a sob.

05 aided him out of the tub and brought him into the hall. As he had put his kid into the box like the others, 05 ushered Spot to rest as well and eventually brought him to Dot’s room. He himself returned into the hall and sat down under the round window in the middle.

He looked up and saw how a soft, warm light fell through it, from the side. The light came from the ‘sun’ if he remembered correctly. It was a ‘star’, closest to the ‘planet’ they lived on and brought them warmth and light. He had never quite understood it, but he supposed that it would be easier to comprehend had he actually seen the sun once or twice in his life. But like this, it only felt like a concept and not like their reality.

Well, at least until now. Because at this moment for the very first time 05 felt like something from this Outside had called for him. Like something had awakened him. It was painful and harsh he actually felt the potential of the sunrays touch him and sting his skin.

Maybe, he told himself, maybe it was better that everything turned out the way it did. Children that had parents, who didn’t even know the ‘sun’, should probably never be parents anyway.

 

And yet…

The mourning voice in his head, the one who felt guilty for losing his child, that one told him that someday they would hold their children in the arms and know what the ‘sun’ truly is.


End file.
